Author's Note

Greetings Internet Users!

I'm so glad that this is finally out. I've been working on this story for way too long to write. I guess I've just been busier than I expected to be. Couple that with some good old fashioned writers block, and you've got a very long hiatus. However, hopefully this will give me some steam to start writing again.

I've got chapter two nearly done, but it'll take a bit in order to make sure it's up to date and ready to go.

For now, I hope that you'll enjoy this!

• InternetStranger

Chapter One: One Day At A Time

The rain pounded hard against the jungle trees, flooding the jungle floor below. Distant thunder rumbled in the clouds above the trees. A pair of boots slammed against the mud, marching through the darkness. A group of soldiers trudged through the dark jungle, walking over fallen logs and small twigs. The small entourage entered into a darker section of the jungle, the thick leaves quickly enclosing them.

Suddenly, the trees surrounding the group began spraying bullets at them, seemingly from all directions. One of the men in the group got hit in the head, his limp body falling over into the mud. The rest of the group opened fire at the trees, trying their hardest to protect themselves. The trees were lit up with bullets as the men tried their hardest to push back the attackers.

Minutes passed by, as the small group slowly demolished the enemy force, the final shot ringing out as a body fell from the tree. The body landed with a thud in front of them, blood seeping from the limp body. The small group panted with exhaustion as they looked at their handiwork. One of the men looked at their fallen comrade and crawled over to him. Looking into the former humans eyes, he brought his dirty fingers up to his eyes, and with the grace of the mother, closed the lids over its eyes.

The men mourned silently, for they knew that they still had a job to do. Marking the location for retrieval, the group climbed out of the pit. As they passed by the bodies that they have shot, some men in the group spat at them, cursing at them for what they have done. As the men continued on their way, one thought was common amongst their minds...

Just another day in Vietnam.

March 5th, 2021
Des Moines, Iowa
8:59 A.M.

The mailbox door clamped shut, as the man next to it fingered through his mail. Doing an about face, the old man walked back towards his suburban home. The rain softly pitter-pattered against the sidewalk as he made his way back to the small home. Nearing his door, he looked at the small apple tree in his yard. He had no idea how long it had been there, but it defiantly was welcome in his yard. Looking at the foot of the tree, his soft smile turned into a frown as he remembered what laid beneath the surface. "Never again," he thought to himself, as he quickly walked inside of his home, closing the door shut.

Throwing the mail on the counter, the man slipped off his shoes and walked towards his bathroom. Checking his watch, it read 9:05 A.M.. Realizing that he had to get ready for work, he made his way towards the bathroom to clean himself up a bit. As he prepared himself for work, he paused for a moment to look at himself in the mirror. His white hair stood proudly and confidently, despite his old age. His blue eyes looked back at him in the mirror. Those eyes have seen so many things, many of those he refuses to talk about.

Brushing his teeth quickly, he rushes out of the bathroom and into his only bedroom. Walking towards the closet, he opened his closet and grabbed his business suit and franticly put it on. Running out the door, he quickly tied his tie and slipped on his shoes. Sliding into his car, he slammed the key into the ignition, turning it once it was full inside it. The engine roared to life, as the radio instantly turned on and began to play some tunes. He brought his hand down to the stick, and was about to shift it into reverse, but he suddenly paused as his eyes gazed upon the tree.

He stared at that tree for a solid minute, as he thought back to what layer underneath. Or, more precisely, what he put under that tree. A lone tear streamed across his aged cheek, and softly fell onto his leg. Finally, he let out a long sigh, and shifted the car into reverse. Pulling out of the driveway, he put the car back into drive, turned on the windshield wipers, and drove off to work.

9:53 P.M

The door to the house slowly creaked open, as a tired man stumbled into the room. Tugging on his tie with his hand, he let out a deep sigh as the cloth was pulled free from his neck. Bringing a hand up to it, he thought to himself, "Note to self, don't put the tie on so tight!" Throwing the cloth onto his couch, he stumbled towards the bathroom, grabbing his pajamas that he had put up there earlier this morning.

Sliding his dress shirt off, he lifted up his undershirt to remove it, but paused as he looked at a small mark on his hip. It was about the size of a dime, it's lighter skin tone making it obvious to anybody who saw it. Reaching a hand down, he rubbed the small mark softly, grunting in pain every now and then. As he stood there, rubbing that wound, he once again thought about what he had buried under that tree. "No!" he suddenly thought, abruptly removing his hand from the scar. "If I stop thinking about it, then the memories will go away," he thought as he finished changing clothes.

Brushing his teeth, he took his time to remove all of the plaque stuck on his pearly whites. Even after all of these years, he still took pride in how white his teeth were. Giving the mirror a small smile, he left the room and mindlessly stumbled to his bed. Collapsing into the bed, he let out a long sigh as he unconsciously said,

"Just another day in 'Nam.

When he opened his eyes, he instantly knew that something was up.

For starters, the only thing he could see was a white abyss, seemingly stretching out for miles. For a split second, he thought that maybe, he had finally died and now he was waiting for his judgment. At first, he seemed at ease about this, but then he realized that he could still feel the strange warmness of this place against his skin. Confused, he sat up, feeling his aches and pain of his old age melting away. Looking around he thought that he was all alone, that is, until he heard a voice.

"Greetings, Michael Wanner."

Whirling around, Michael saw a site that completely through him off guard. Standing there, was a creature that he had never seen before. The creature in question, despite having hands and walking on two legs, looked very similar to a pony, but it held some key differences. For starters, it's facial features and body type indicated that it was a female, but it held some interesting traits. Her fur was an unnatural pink, covering the visible parts of her body. Her hair was unnatural too, with both her head and tail having a mix of purple, bright yellow, and dark pink streaks . She was wearing a light purple and pink dress, coving her near perfect hourglass figure. She was the prime example of a young, beautiful women who, if Michael was going to be honest, he would have been into if he was younger.

Approaching the strange creature he suddenly asked, "How the hell do you know my name!?"

The womanly creature gave out a small chuckle and answered, "You'll be surprised by the things I know." She then walked closer to him and said, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but I just go by Cadence."

Cautiously, Michael shook her hand and replied, "Uh... nice to meet you. I'm Michael B. Wanner, but I just go by Mike, but I assume you already knew that."

Smiling, Cadence replied, "Yeah, but it's nice to hear it from somepony."

"Somepony? That must be their word for someone," Mike thought to himself. Looking around, he finally asked, "Where the hell am I? Is this even real??"

Cadence's smile somewhat began to falter as she said, "This place is what we like to call the "Eather". The only way I can describe it is that it's a bridge between realities. Sometimes, I go here to meditate and ease my mind. So as to question if this is 'real', I would have to say both yes and no." Turning around, she began to walk, gesturing Mike to join him. Deciding that he has nothing better to do, he soon joined the princess's side.

"As for why I called you here," Cadence said, as her horn began to light up ," is this." Suddenly, a large oval appeared and showed an image of a castle sitting on top of a mountain. At first, Mike thought that the castle looked beautiful, but as he continued to look at it, his opinion quickly changed. The castle looked like it was decaying, like a house that was left to rot.

Confused he said, "What's that?"

Her face turned into a more mournful one as she answered, "That's Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. My aunt's used to live there, before the 'incident'." The image changed to give a bird-eye's view of the entire nation as she continued, "Equestria used to be a happy place, filled with sunshine and rainbows where all were united by harmony." The image changed again to pictures of riots and carnage as Cadence said, "When my aunt's went dark, the nation dissolved into chaos. Now, I'm hearing reports of horrible deeds done by the citizens here." She then looked at him and, in an sympathetic look, finished, "Much like what you've been through in Vietnam."

Mike recoiled in shock as memories flooded back into his mind. He looked back at Cadence and, for a moment, he thought that he had actually died, and he was about to be judged. He shakenly spoke, "W-What do you know about that?!"

Cadence closed the portal and sighed, saying, "I'll be blunt with you; I need your help."

"Well...that was not what I was expecting," John thought to himself as he took in what she said. With a confused look, he stuttered, "M-Me? What could you possible want me for?"

Cadence, with a solemn look, stated," I chose you because I believe in second chances."

"What I've done is too horrible to deserve a second chance," Mike shared, letting out a small sigh.

"I know what you have done is bad," Cadence said as she walked towards him. Placing a hand on his chest, she continued, " You are a man drowned in regrets, haunted by what you've seen... and what you've done. Yet, you are the one Equestria needs the most. We need someone who has walked down that dark path, and somehow made it back out. We need someone who can understand that darkness, and knows how to counteract it. That's why I chose you." Mike only stood there in silent shock as she concluded, "I'm not only asking you to save us, but this may be the chance you need to finally heal."

"Heal?" Mike asked, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Cadence's face saddened as she said, "There's no need to hide it. I know that you blame yourself for what happened." Mike refused to look at her face as she continued, "You think that you could have done something to stop those deeds and save all of those people." She brought her soft hands to his face, tilting it back to her eyes. She whispered to him, " Yet, we all deserve second chances, and I'm giving you that opportunity." With a stray tear streaking down her face, she whispered, "Please..."

The two of them stood there for a second, wondering what the other would reply with. Finally, Mike sighed and said, "Very well... I'll help you."

Cadence's face lit up with joy as she embraced the man, crying out, " Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Mike didn't really know what to do as the pink mare embraced him tightly, but he then decided to just let it flow. He brought his older hands around the mare's back and returned the embrace. When the two finally parted, he noticed the Eather slowly starting to dissipate. He quickly looked at Cadence and asked, "What's happening?!"

She smiled at him and responded, "You're being sent out on your quest."

"But what am I supposed to do?" Mike asked, as the world around him slowly faded away, "You can't just drop me in here and expect me to know what to do."

As the world faded into darkness, he heard Cadence's voice say, " Just follow your heart. You'll know what to do."